Embedded Viewer for Google Books in Melvyl

By Ellen Meltzer, CDL Information Services Manager

CDL has implemented an embedded YouTube-style viewer for Google Books in a test copy of the Melvyl® Catalog.  The book viewer is visible on the detailed record display, allowing users to view and search the full text in those digitized Google books free of copyright restrictions.

In the test version of Melvyl (http://melvyl-test.cdlib.org:8164/F/), search the sample titles and then view the detailed record display.

Sample titles:
            Romance Island
            Cord blood : establishing a national hematopoietic stem cell bank program
            The mason-bees

(Since this is not a production server, it may not be up and running at all times, and response time may be slower than usual.)

For our initial implementation of the Google Book Search API (application programming interface), CDL integrated the API features into the Melvyl Catalog at the brief record display level.  That feature embedded online access to mass digitized content from all Google Books Library Program partners within Melvyl, permitting users to see reviews, snippets, tables of contents or entire scanned books.

With the embedded book viewer, users can explore the full contents of digitized books either in a small viewer or in full-screen, and also search within the work.  Researchers can explore the full text of an item right in the discovery tool, the library catalog, within the natural scholarly work flow.

By implementing these APIs we enable our users access to digital versions of print resources and help them make more informed choices about the materials they use for research or request from other libraries.

This feature will also appear in the near future in the Next Generation Melvyl Pilot supported by the WorldCat Local (WCL) service.

After a testing period, if successful, this feature will become a regular part of Melvyl.